#Import private key bitcoin core how to
#Import private key bitcoin core software

#Import private key bitcoin core how to

Imagine you are a merchant and you have received some bitcoins as a gift from one of your customers, for example, me, who knows how to use Bitcoin paper wallets very well.

Another scenario, though risky, is very interesting.

Also, a vice-versa scenario is possible where an attacker who has access to your mobile can somehow spend your Bitcoin funds that are stored in your cold stored paper wallet.

If you lose your paper wallet effectively, anyone can spend your funds even if you have imported your private keys because the paper wallet’s private key is still valid, and by importing, you have just kept a copy of it on your software.

#Import private key bitcoin core software

Risks that you need to know if you are importing your private keys into a software wallet. Some of you would say what’s the harm in this scenario as it is a good thing that now you can spend from any of the wallets, but there are some risks that you need to understand. In this case, your funds can be sent from any of the wallets so basically, it is a replica or copy of your original paper wallet.

This results in a scenario where your coins are visible and accessible from both source and destination wallet, i.e., the wallet from which the keys were exported and the wallet to which the keys are imported. When a user imports their private keys from a paper wallet to a software wallet like Mycelium or Coinomi, it means the user is putting that private key in their existing collection of keys. So without further delay, let’s get started. Since this is regarding the security of your funds, I want to tell you a thumb rule if you are using paper wallets which is Always Sweep Your Paper Wallet’s Private Keys.įurther on, I am going to tell you why you should sweep that, and I will also elaborate on what sweeping and importing your private keys basically means. That is why I thought it is an important topic from the security point of view to explain what it means to sweep or import your private keys from a paper wallet. When CoinSutra published about a fork of Bitcoin named Bitcoin Gold and also a guide to claiming Bitcoin Gold, many users were confused as to whether they should sweep their private keys or import their private keys of paper wallet to claim their BTG.

Paper wallets are an effective way of storing Bitcoin private keys offline. It can have the Bitcoin public address also printed on it, but not necessarily. During the recent fork drama, I found out that many people are storing their Bitcoins in cold storage like Ledger Nano X, Trezor Wallet, and paper wallets, which is, in fact, a good thing.īut what I understood after the fork was that many users don’t know how to use paper wallets properly.įor the uninitiated, paper wallets are simply Bitcoin private keys printed on a piece of paper.